18.04.2023 /

European Commission Loosens State Aid Rules for Energy Storage

European Commission Loosens State Aid Rules for Energy Storage

The European Commission adopted a renewed version of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework in line with the European Commission’s Green Deal Industrial Plan on 9 March 2023. The general purpose of the Framework is to temporarily loosen EU State Aid rules in order to allow Member States to accelerate the funding of the net-zero transition in response to the economic impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the US Inflation Reduction Act.

The Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework is complemented by more targeted and permanent changes to the General Block Exemption Rules (GBER), which allow the European Commission to suspend reporting requirements on select energy storage installations.

The EASE Secretariat prepared a briefing on the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework with a focus on the state aid relevant to the energy storage industry. An additional short brief presents the European Commission’s targeted amendments to the General Block Exemption state aid rules (GBER). 

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02.04.2020 / MEMBERS

Welcome on board Aarhus University!

The European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) is glad to extend a warm welcome to its newest member Aarhus University – who joined EASE in February 2020.

18.04.2023 /

The Critical Raw Materials Act Briefing

The Critical Raw Materials Act Briefing

The European Union proposed the Critical Raw Materials (CRM) Act on 16 March 2023. The CRM Act focuses on identifying and mapping the supply and demand of critical and strategic raw materials of which some are used in the development of energy storage technologies and developing sustainable and responsible sourcing strategies. The CRM Act also aims to reduce Europe’s dependence on imports of critical raw materials and promote the recycling and reuse of these materials to minimize waste and environmental impact. Ultimately, it is intended to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of raw materials, thereby supporting the growth of the EU’s green economy and its efforts to mitigate climate change.

Together with an overview of the accompanying documentation, the EASE Secretariat prepared the analysis of the Act and its potential impact on the energy storage industry.

EASE has published an updated version of its brief analysis on 29 June 2023, which you can access below.

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02.04.2020 / MEMBERS

Welcome on board Aarhus University!

The European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) is glad to extend a warm welcome to its newest member Aarhus University – who joined EASE in February 2020.

05.04.2023 /

The Net-Zero Industrial Act: Analysis of Proposed Measures to Foster Cleantech Manufacturing in Europe

The Net-Zero Industrial Act: Analysis of Proposed Measures to Foster Cleantech Manufacturing in Europe

The Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), announced by the European Commission on 16 March 2023, aims to increase the EU’s domestic manufacturing capacity of cleantech equipment. The NZIA streamlines permitting procedures, incentivizes public procurement of cleantech, ensures a skilled workforce, and fosters innovation through regulatory sandboxes. The act also creates a list of eight key technologies to achieve the EU’s climate targets, with batteries and energy storage included. The NZIA establishes that the EU’s manufacturing capacity of strategic net-zero technologies should be at least 40% of the Union’s annual deployment needs by 2030.

The EASE policy team has worked on this dossier to understand what the impact on the energy storage system will be and prepared an in-depth analysis for the EASE members.

 

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02.04.2020 / MEMBERS

Welcome on board Aarhus University!

The European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) is glad to extend a warm welcome to its newest member Aarhus University – who joined EASE in February 2020.

31.03.2023 /

The Electricity Market Design Revision's Impact on Security of Supply, Flexibility, and Energy Storage

The Electricity Market Design Revision’s Impact on Security of Supply, Flexibility, and Energy Storage

The European Commission presented its proposed changes to the Electricity Market Design on 14 March 2023. Although the scope of the proposal is limited, it has the potential to significantly affect the energy storage industry. The proposal aims to maintain the current price signals and overall framework of day-ahead and intraday markets while introducing some adjustments, striking a good balance between public involvement and market-based mechanisms. The main goals of the proposal are to promote investments in renewable energy and flexibility, minimize energy price volatility, and safeguard consumers against price spikes. The main provisions that will potentially affect the energy storage sector are thoroughly analysed in this document, trying to also identify potential areas of improvement.

This analysis also include the European Commission Recommendation on Energy Storage, which builds upon the European Commission Staff Working Document on Energy Storage, which recognises that “energy storage can play a crucial role in the current and future energy system”. The Recommendation complements the Electricity Market Design revision.

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02.04.2020 / MEMBERS

Welcome on board Aarhus University!

The European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) is glad to extend a warm welcome to its newest member Aarhus University – who joined EASE in February 2020.

17.03.2023 /

The Electricity Market Design Revision and the European Commission’s Work on Energy Storage

The Electricity Market Design Revision and the European Commission’s Work on Energy Storage

On 14 March 2023, the European Commission published a proposal and staff working document related to the Electricity Market Design revision, as well as four documents related to energy storage: The Staff Working Document on Energy Storage, The European Commission Recommendation on Energy Storage, The ENTEC Study on energy storage and The Joint Research Center study on Europe’s flexibility needs.  

EASE policy team has prepared a new in-depth analysis for the EASE members on how energy-related initiatives presented by the European Commission on the 14th of March 2023 will impact the flexibility and energy storage sector.

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02.04.2020 / MEMBERS

Welcome on board Aarhus University!

The European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) is glad to extend a warm welcome to its newest member Aarhus University – who joined EASE in February 2020.

14.11.2022 /

Laying Down a Framework to Accelerate the Deployment of Renewable Energy

Laying Down a Framework to Accelerate the Deployment of Renewable Energy

EASE has prepared a short briefing on the Commission’s emergency proposal for a Council Regulation addressing the acceleration of permitting for renewable energy installations in the EU. This emergency proposal was released on 9 November 2022 and seeks to fill the gap of immediacy accelerating permitting while Renewable Energy Directive III and other REPowerEU policies continue to be negotiated next year.

The proposal specifically includes energy storage co-located with solar energy installations in permitting acceleration and places energy storage in the overriding public interest which serves public health and safety.

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02.04.2020 / MEMBERS

Welcome on board Aarhus University!

The European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) is glad to extend a warm welcome to its newest member Aarhus University – who joined EASE in February 2020.

31.10.2022 /

Policy Options to Mitigate the Impact of Natural Gas Prices on Electricity Bill

Policy Options to Mitigate the Impact of Natural Gas Prices on Electricity Bill

EASE has prepared a short briefing on the non-paper addressing policy options to mitigate the impact of natural gas prices on electricity bill. This Commission non-paper is published in response to the European Council on 20 October 2022 calling on the Commission to submit concrete decisions on steps to address the EU energy market, particularly options for an EU gas price cap mechanism.

The non-paper lays out possible options for the Commission in a cost-benefit analysis of a cap in recognition of not modifying the merit order of electricity generation, to prevent increase in gas consumption, to address financial and distributional effects and to address the flow of gas beyond EU borders.

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02.04.2020 / MEMBERS

Welcome on board Aarhus University!

The European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) is glad to extend a warm welcome to its newest member Aarhus University – who joined EASE in February 2020.

24.09.2021 /

CBAM and ETS: Impact on Energy Storage

CBAM and ETS: Impact on Energy Storage

With the Fit for 55 Package, the European Commission has published an ambitious set of measures: among these, the Emission Trading System (ETS) revision and the new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). EASE has prepared an analysis on what does the CBAM mean for the energy storage sector, as well as, revision of the EU ETS and its goals set for 2030.

While the former isn’t disruptive of the previous situation, despite including new sectors as road transport, buildings, and maritime transport, as well as strengthening the aviation carbon market, the latter represents a novelty in global trade.

The new CBAM will include imports of electricity, iron, aluminium, steel, certain fertilisers, and cement: after an transitional phase between 2023 and 2025, it should be fully implemented for all imports from all countries not covered by the EU ETS; moreover, the general layout of the compliance procedure will follow that of the ETS.

The analysis provided in these reports highlights the most relevant sections of these legislative instruments, alongside a provisional assessment of the impact they will have on the storage sector.

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02.04.2020 / MEMBERS

Welcome on board Aarhus University!

The European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) is glad to extend a warm welcome to its newest member Aarhus University – who joined EASE in February 2020.